The Homeless Crisis in Portland

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In the search for another topic to discuss I came across this article. In it, they claimed that Portland’s homeless situation has only been worsened by poor policy on both state and city levels. This and what is described as an attempt of tokenism is what this article claims to be at the core of this issue. 

To an extent, I agree with this. It’s understandable that the city does not want to upset it’s constituents and thus has taken a more liberal approach of not apprehending individuals for substance abuse or attempting to remove camps. The humanity of these individuals has to be respected, but the solutions the city has arrived at in order to accomplish this completely miss the fact that there is an apparent substance abuse issue with the homeless community here in Portland. Understanding that these people are victims of circumstances is one thing, but going further and assisting them in reclaiming their lives is another. 



Later in the day after some continuation of my research I came across another article that discussed that specifically the homeless veteran community in Portland had practically been reduced to zero. This reminded me of the frequent conservative response of claiming that our homeless veterans have not been adequately addressed. This obviously is an issue nationwide, but here in Portland it has been addressed properly based on the numbers. But the problem still stands that the homeless community continues to grow and the policies in place are not addressing the issues that matter. 



Affordable housing is definitely a must, but if the mental and addiction issues are not addressed many homeless individuals will be left out. Some homeless communities have already seen the beginning of good resources that meet their needs in order to reclaim their lives. However at the end of the day we must do our best to assist all individuals who are on the journey and process to reclaim their lives. And this must begin at the local level. 


For further details on programs or initiatives recommended for local level government, check out the National League of Cities Housing Instability and Homelessness initiative.





Henry Reyes

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